


Next Time

by Fafsernir



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: 5 times Patrick wanted to come out but didn't, 5+1 Things, Engagement Announcement, Fluff, M/M, Patrick's scared, Phone Calls, and 1 time he didn't hide who David was
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 07:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,350
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29042265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fafsernir/pseuds/Fafsernir
Summary: Patrick hadn't come out, yet. He was still afraid, still scared. But he wanted to do it face to face, not on a phone call. Except that he was also avoiding seeing his parents, and every time they asked about him, he wanted to tell them, to explose with the love he felt for David. "Next time I see them," he kept telling himself.
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 5
Kudos: 132





	Next Time

**Author's Note:**

> And so it begins, my sudden inspiration to write Schitt's Creek fics. I just fell in love with Patrick and David and couldn't not write anything ;) Enjoy this !

“Oh, no you’re not a bother at all,” Patrick heard as he came into the store. He put David's coffee down on the counter, walking past him to get to the backroom. He squeezed his hand on David's waist as a greeting, not wanting to bother him. “Do you want me to put him through? He just came back,” David said, and Patrick stepped back into the store, curious. “Yes… uh-uh…” David agreed a couple more times, then chuckled. “Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Brewer.”

Patrick's brain short circuited as David handed the phone to him. What? David was talking to his mother? David had been talking to his mom? On the phone? At the store? What did she know? What had David told her? 

Patrick answered very automatically to his mother. 

“Yes, he's quite the charmer,” he heard himself say when she commented on David's politeness and kindness on the phone. Could he say he was a charmer? Was that saying too much? 

_ Shit _ , Patrick thought. He hadn't told them, hadn't shared his discovery about himself. They didn't know. They didn't know he was gay, they didn't know he was seeing David outside of their business. His mother talked of him as his business partner. And Patrick felt guilty to not correct her. 

_ It's not time, yet. Be more sure.  _ Sure of what? He didn't know. He had never felt better than he did when he was with David, there wasn't anything to be sure about. He was sure he liked David. He was sure he was happy, happier he had ever been. He was sure he was gay.

But they didn't have to know that just now. He could wait. Next time he saw them. 

* * *

“So, your mother ran into Rachel yesterday…”

Patrick winced. Physically, emotionally, and loudly winced, his whole body recoiling at the mention of his ex fiancée’s name.

“She looked lovely,” his mother provided, as silence followed his father’s statement.

“I know,” Patrick said without thinking. _ Fuck, no, don’t, that’s not what I meant. _ “She came to Schitt’s Creek,” he added quickly. He should have realized that when she had said she’d visit her parents in her hometown, his own parents would inevitably run into her. They had parted in as good a way as they could have, considering the situation and the pain he had caused her. She expressed regret, regret that he hadn’t been upfront with her. She would have left him alone, had she known.

But what had she said to his parents? What did they know?

“She’s really a keeper.”

“Mom…” Patrick sighed. 

“She told us,” his father added, and Patrick’s soul left his body. Told them? What? 

Patrick wished David was at the store, so he could have him around for moral support. But, no, last he had heard, David was still very much in bed, digesting the news. Patrick missed him.

“She’s thinking of starting college again. For something she really enjoys, this time. She said you’d opened her eyes and allowed her to see that she could be who she wanted to be. That’s very mature of you, son.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Patrick answered, gritting his teeth. No forced coming out, then. He should thank her, he thought briefly, but shook his head. “New client coming, I have to go, sorry,” he lied, because what an easy way to flee conversation when you owned a store. 

His parents quickly said their goodbyes and Patrick rubbed his face, sighing heavily. What was David doing now, he wondered. He wanted to go knock on his door, apologize again, and again, and wrap his arms around him, let himself go in the reassuring warmth of the man he was falling more and more in love with.

He groaned in his hands at the thought, because this wasn’t the moment to think about his feelings, this wasn’t the moment to think about  _ love _ , when David was upset. When he had hurt David, when he had asked him to trust him, while not revealing something as big as an ex-fiancée actively trying to get them back together. But, at the same time, he felt it. All the signs he had heard meant you were falling in love. He couldn’t stop smiling when he was with David, he couldn’t keep away from his touch, his arms, his lips, for too long, he couldn’t stop thinking about him and about them, he couldn’t imagine a future where David wasn’t in.

He had sung for him, his heart pounding in his chest as they locked eyes. He had opened his heart with gestures, instead of words, and it felt right. He wasn’t ready for words yet. David definitely wasn’t ready for words.

Especially now that they weren’t seeing each other. Patrick missed him so much, and the exhaustion of handling the store alone wasn’t enough to keep him away from thinking about him. 

* * *

“Have you had the chance to meet anyone?” Patrick’s mother voice said through the phone, because of course she would ask about that, she had held it back when the situation with Rachel still wasn’t clear, but now she wanted him to be happy, wanted him to have met someone, because that was what she linked with happiness. Patrick didn’t share the same opinion, he told himself, but he had lulled himself into a straight relationship for years because “it was just how life was: you found a woman to marry and be happy with”. He couldn’t blame his mother for wanting him to meet someone.

Patrick blushed, but he was glad they were simply calling in, and not video-chatting. “Uhm,” he started, but his brain sent two different pieces of information and he didn’t know which one to voice.

_ No, I’ve been too busy with the store _ and  _ Yes, you’ve spoken to him, his name’s David _ battled in his brain for a bit.

“I have to go,” he eventually said, which was true. He had to go see David, and he didn’t want to explain to his parents that he was going to see David, neither did he want to explain to David he had been held back for a gay panic as he decided whether or not to come out to his parents on the way over.

* * *

“Are you sure you don't want us to come down?”

Patrick shook his head, even if they couldn't see him. “No, don't worry. Kiss everyone for me.”

“What if you get lonely?”

_ David's here _ , he thought, but didn't tell. “I won't. The store is keeping me busy, and it's a small town, there's always someone.” David. David's always there, and the thought of spending time apart was too painful, too weird. He wasn't sure he could go home, smile, and pretend. He didn't want to talk about Rachel, he didn't want to find the words and the courage to come out. It felt so great, to just exist in Schitt's Creek. It felt great to have literally only needed to come out to David, who had told Alexis, and that was enough for everyone to know, if they ever even cared. Patrick was fine with that. He wanted his parents to know, but he didn't want to tell. He didn't want them to be disappointed, to think less of him. Especially at Christmas, with the whole family there, he couldn't just come out. Oh, they had all loved Rachel so much.

He wanted to, but it wasn't time. He would, when he saw them next time. Nevermind that he kept finding excuses for them not to see each other. 

“David says merry christmas,” Patrick said absently, interpreting David's gesturing. 

“You're still at the store? You should take a break, don't overwork yourselves.”

Patrick forgot to correct her again, to tell her that they weren't at the store, that David was staying over, because they were together. He forgot to mention that he was in love with David, that he was happily sharing a business and his love with David. 

_ Next time I see them _ , he told himself. 

“Well, merry Christmas to him, too.”

The call didn't last much longer, and Patrick didn't have to lie. It was okay. He was just withholding the tiniest part of his life. 

No, that was a lie. He was omitting the biggest part of his life. David was everything, was his everyday, he was his every tomorrow and every yesterday. But he couldn't say that, not yet. He could live in this bubble of a town for a while, still, where people already knew and he didn't have to worry about coming out and about his parents loving him less, even if they would never. They loved him, and he loved them, and he loved David, and they would love him so much, because he made him so happy. But what if they did? What if they reacted badly?

_ Next time I see them.  _

* * *

“Happy birthday!” his parents’ didn’t synchronize, one adding “son”, the other “honey”, but it made Patrick laugh.

“Thanks, I love you.”

“What are your plans for today? Are you working?”

He smiled to himself, because working made him think of David. “No, David told me not to worry about that. I’ll go grab dinner with him later, probably. And a few other friends!” he added quickly because, right, he wasn’t out. They didn’t know yet. How did they not know yet? How had Patrick not gathered the courage to reveal such a happy part of his life? He really needed to tell them.

“That’s wonderful, and generous of him to let you off work!” his mother said.

“We have to go, we’re pulling up.”

Pulling up? “Where?” he heard himself ask as he was still panicking about when he would tell them. The distraction was welcomed.

“Oh, we’re just getting away for the weekend. A small weekend away.”

That was the same idea twice in a row, but okay, Patrick didn’t need more details than that anyway. “I’m happy for you guys, you deserve it. And thank you for calling.”

“We love you, Patrick!”

“Love you too,” he smiled at the phone, then let his head fall when they hung up.

He needed to go see them, at some point. Maybe he could ask David. Who would open the store, though? He wanted David to be there to help him morally, but that wasn’t the best idea, maybe. It would be awkward for David.

_David_ _doesn’t know you’re still in the closet_ , he thought to himself, and sighed. He’d think about that another day, and he tried not to think that maybe it would hurt David, if he ever learned that. He had to come out to his parents. No, he wanted to come out to them. It was just… hard to wrap his head around it. What would he even say?

Another day. This was a concern for another day. He didn’t need to think about that on his birthday. 

* * *

Patrick swallowed back a smile when he saw his parents’ forehead on the camera. They were trying, and it was adorable.

After a few seconds of adjustment, he could see their faces, and apparently they could also see him clearly. They never really called with video, but this was different. This was special. He couldn’t tell them over the phone, and driving down to them was time he didn’t have, so video-chatting would have to do.

They talked a bit, about the show and how it had gone, about his hometown and what was new or what hadn’t changed there.

“David,” he called after a bit, because David had told him to call when everyone was ready. It avoided the first few awkward minutes, and Patrick could only understand.

He watched as David got out of the bathroom after one last hair adjustment in the mirror, even though his hair was already perfect. Then David kissed him on the cheek as he sat next to him and waved at his parents.

“Aw, you guys are adorable!”

“There’s something else we wanted to tell you,” Patrick smiled, and he had to stop smiling this much, but he couldn’t. He was surprised he hadn’t already blurted out the news.

“You look lovely, Mrs. Brewer,” David said, and Patrick silently thanked him, because he was a bit nervous about this. Excited, mostly, but a bit nervous. More so than the first time he had told them.

“I proposed to David,” he finally admitted, glancing at David who was waiting for their reaction, but also couldn’t help but talk.

“And I said yes!”

Patrick loved this man so much.

“Oh my god!” his parents said, and… ceiling. David chuckled against his arm, trying to hide his face, and Patrick couldn’t help but smile, as if his smile wasn’t already stabbing his cheeks.

The camera was on his parents’ faces again after a bit, and his mother was getting teary-eyed, and his father was sharing the same cheekbone-hurting smile as his son.

“Congratulations! We’re so happy for you!”

They talked more, and Patrick was floating on a cloud. He had come out to them only recently, and he was already dropping the engagement bomb on them, and they were so supportive. They had talked more about it, and he had cried as he explained to them how he had felt, how it had always felt wrong, but everything suddenly felt right with David, with a man. 

Patrick didn’t think David had talked to them since his birthday party, but he was doing most of the talking on their end, asking about his parents, interested in their answers, and of course telling stories of how amazingly romantic their son was. 

Patrick felt happy. Truly, genuinely happy. And complete. David was showing off his hand and the rings that he kept admiring since Patrick had proposed, and his parents were fully invested in the conversation. Patrick was finally surrounded by everything that felt right. It was like someone had slightly pushed his life one way, and suddenly all the pieces that had never fit, had all found their perfect place. 


End file.
